


tell me something i don't already know

by softtofustew



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-04 16:29:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16350140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softtofustew/pseuds/softtofustew
Summary: before jae can leave, though, he feels a small tug on his shirt. he turns around to face the little boy, his eyes lit up and wide, innocently asking,“can you be my appa, too?”





	tell me something i don't already know

**Author's Note:**

> thoroughly inspired by ttamarrindo's little, broken (still good). i hope you enjoy this <3

it's almost like clockwork: every friday, at 7:35 PM sharp, there comes a rap at the door. two short knocks, followed by one long, then two short, then two long. every friday, five-year-old dowoon will race to the door, little feet thumping against the carpeted floor, and fling the door open. every friday, there stands jae, flanked out in his work shirt and slacks, blazer over one arm.

“hey jaejae,” brian chuckles as he walks down the hallway to meet him. he's in a white tee, something splattered across the front, and black shorts. jae lifts his lips up into a smile.

“hey yourself, bri - is that food on your shirt?” jae points out, smothering his laugh as brian glances down and yelps.

“oh, god - this is, like, the second time tonight,” brian rambles, flustered. “uh, do you mind accompanying dowoonie for a bit? he's watching something on the tv - i’ll be in and out real fast and then i’ll-”

jae places a hand on brian's tensed shoulder. “calm down, man. i can deal with kids. dowoon's a sweetheart, right woonie?” jae coos affectionately. glancing upwards, dowoon nods his head furiously.

“hyung-ah!” dowoon scrambles for the older man, lifting his arms up. “carry! carry!”

brian clicks his tongue in disapproval. “dowoonie, you know you must be polite,” he admonishes, albeit lightly. the little boy swivels around, eyes wide with guilt.

“sorry, appa,” dowoon mumbles through pursed lips. beside the both of them, jae simply laughs. without warning, he takes up dowoon's sides gently before lifting him into his arms. dowoon squeals with delight as he nestles into the man's hold onto him.

before they walk off into the direction of the living room, jae casually winks at brian. “let him be. and don't worry about it - you  _ know _ i love this kid.” with that said, he turns around and answers dowoon's endless questions about how was jae's day (“as good as work goes, baby”), whether jae had eaten dinner already (“appa said he's cooking bulgogi!”), whether jae had watched chicken little before (“no i haven't, woon - you said i look like him, though?”).

from where brian stands, five o’clock shadow on his chin, tired eyes, small smile, he feels the warmth grow in his chest, palpitating against his cage, blossoming into full bloom.

 

**_______________**

 

whenever brian remembers how the two of them had met, he still cringes in embarrassment, but whenever he voices his perspective openly, jae simply slaps him on the back and laughs at how typical it sounded, as if out of a novel.

it's even stupider that he knows the exact date, really - sunday, valentine's day two years back, back when dowoon was just beginning to pick up his pace and run around like a lost puppy. at one point in time, brian was seriously considering attaching a child leash on the kid.

honest to god, it's a dumb idea - a reminder of once-cherished love as he crouches down to hold dowoon's hand. they traipse down the pavement to the park close by their house, and when they round the corner, brian swears he sees the kid's eyes light up like a christmas tree.

“sliiiiiiiide!” dowoon squeals, ecstatic. he begins bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet with every step. brian can only grimace as he leans down more, apologetic look on his face as couples mingling around shoot them weird looks.

ahh, young love.

when they reach a nearby bench, brian seats himself down. “dowoonie, how about you play while appa sits down here?” brian chirps. his back aches from crouching down. “appa’s a bit tired now.”

“but all we did was waaaaalk,” dowoon pouts. he crosses his arms furiously, eyes drawn into a glare (as menacing as the next baby's). “you can't be tired.”

brian laughs to himself, before reaching out to stroke dowoon's hair. “ah, woonie ah, i’m not as young as i used to be. having you all to myself, i need a bit of rest now and then, okay?”

in an instance, dowoon's ears perk up. “appa, is it because…” his voice trails off as he looks at something far off to his right. following his gaze, brian's line of sight falls onto a loving young couple at a bench, feeding each other. “... appa is by himself?”

_ god, this kid _ . within seconds, the man's face bursts into flames. “n-no, t-that’s not it!” brian blurts, flustered. “i’m perfectly fine by my-”

“-but appa, you almost burnt yourself cooking yesterday-”

“-woonie ah,” brian takes in a sharp breath. “appa is okay by himself. i don't need anyone, man or woman.”

dowoon taps a finger to his lips. he's known his father for so long - how his own mother's death giving birth to him had devastated appa terribly, to how wherever he went, appa never talked much to anyone. he even knew appa sometimes let his eyes look at a passing lady or man when they wait at the crosswalk - despite his age, dowoon's observant, and in fact: absolutely sly.

“appa, if i find someone here for you, will you play slide with me?” dowoon suggests lightly. the blush across brian's cheeks intensifies.

“w-wha- dowoonie you are not going to- dowoon!” brian's screeches fall upon deaf ears as the little kid takes off, ducking in between passers-by, mums pushing prams, couples hand-in-hand. exhausted, brian scrambles to his feet, before chasing after that damned kid, hot on his heels.

meanwhile, dowoon's gaze darts from person to person, scanning the vicinity for anyone as lonely as appa - none. zero. it's valentine's day, and everyone has a partner - that is, until his eyes land on a particular figure at a bench.

he's lonely, reading a novel, glasses perches on the tip of his nose as he flips to the next page. dowoon grins from ear to ear, before running up to the stranger.

“excuse me! ahjussi!” dowoon hollers above the din of screaming kids at the playground opposite. surprised, the stranger glimpses up from his book.

“oh, hello there.” the stranger offers a small smile as he shuts the book close. “where’re your parents, sweetheart?”

as his voice trails into dowoon's ears, they turn red - the man's voice is smooth, velvety, and reminds him of honey flowing from a jar. “well, the thing is, i don't have an eomma, so it’s not really parents with an ‘s’, though i always wish i could say that, and appa is always very lonely, and i really really want him to play with me but he's always alone and he's even sadder today because today is valenteen’s day.” he takes a deep breath in, then out. “can you marry my appa?-”

“-dowoon!” the shout pierces through the clamour of the park. startled, the two of them turn their heads to face the direction of the source of the sound: brian bursts out of the crowd, breathing heavily as he tugs on the hem of his tee. “i've told you a million times not to run away from me, why do you-”

he stops short upon seeing the man with the sheepish smile. oh god.  _ holy shit _ .

the man's drop-dead  _ gorgeous _ , out-of-a-vogue-photoshoot, straight-fire-out-of-a-manga gorgeous: the glasses are silver-rimmed, light brown hair flopping past his eyes. even sitting down, brian can't help but openly gawk at how he looks so good in a white shirt tucked into slacks.  _ his legs are so long oh my god- _

“sorry,” the man starts - brian has to refrain himself from swooning over him. “he - dowoon? he came up to me and asked me to marry his appa. who i presume is you.” his eyes twinkle under the sunlight.

brian wants to die in a hole.

“god,  _ no _ , i’m sorry, my kid always says a lot of weird stuff - c'mon dowoonie, we should get going-”

“-no!” dowoon crosses his arms across his chest in defiance. “i found you someone! now can you please marry him and play slide with me?” he pleads.

a dark crimson shadows brian's face. “look, woonie, i’ll play slide with you, just…” he sighs in defeat. “let's not interrupt ahjussi’s day, okay?”

but before he can take up dowoon's hand, long slender fingers wrap around brian's wrist. the sudden contact makes him almost jump out of his skin. wide-eyed, brian shoots a look at the stranger. the latter's smile widens. “how about i know your appa’s name first, dowoonie?” the man chuckles at dowoon, who lights up. with that, the man averts his gaze to brian. “jae. and you?”

 

**_______________**

 

“i think it's a bit burnt,” jae comments lightly. brian freezes mid-adding more bulgogi meat to dowoon's rice.

“s-sorry,” brian mumbles sheepishly. he takes up his own chopsticks, clicking them together. “i saw the recipe online and thought about trying it out…”

sat at the round dining table, the three of them are having dinner together, mostly soggy vegetables and (apparently burnt) bulgogi meat. honestly, the only two things brian can cook up properly as a dad is rice and instant noodles. (mm, ramen.)

from where he's sat, jae laughs. “don't worry about it, bri. if you want, i can make some killer meat, though,” he suggests, before shooting brian a sly grin - the younger reduces to a blushing mess.

“okayyyy,” brian drags out long and low.

frankly, even after two years, brian doesn't know what is it to all  _ this _ \- jae working in the day, brian sending dowoon off to preschool; jae eating lunch at his workplace, brian going off to work; jae coming over every friday and weekends, brian picking dowoon up and babying him home. it's a routine of sorts, yet there's jae and jae's own house and jae's own work and personal life - they're not together.  _ so what is this? _

sometimes, the words lodge in brian's throat, fighting to spill over and fall from his lips. sometimes, brian swallows them, both for his sanity and for the sake of - well, whatever  _ this _ is, between him and jae.

before he realises, there's only one piece of meat left. frowning, brian clicks his chopsticks together to stab at it - only for the metal of chopsticks clinking together. when he glimpses up, jae smirks.

“really, brian? respect your elders,” jae taunts. but when they move, their utensils knock against each other again. brian guffaws.

“please, jae, i thought you said they were burnt?” brian mocks.

their banter continues. “yah, but it's food. eat it or leave it.”

“i'm not leaving it, i’m literally claiming it-”

“-c’mon babe, work with me here.” brian doesn't fail to register the sexy underlying tone of jae's voice. when their eyes meet, his heart stumbles. again. and again.

but before he can come up with something snappy, dowoon whines from his chair. “i waaaaaant!”

the two of them snap out of their daze. jae hurriedly retracts like a spring pulling back, whilst brian tsks under his breath, despite his heart still plummeting away into some endless void.

“how many times have i told you, dowoon ah? what's the magic word?”

puppy dog eyes frame the boy's face innocently. “pretty please?”

“alright, baby,” brian coos before taking up the piece of meat and placing it in dowoon's bowl. beside him, jae chuckles, shaking his head.

“the kid's a charmer. a cute one,” jae smiles to himself. when brian focuses on the other's expression, jae's gaze flickers upwards - they stay there, where their eyes are locked. they carry a conversation of their own, and then some.

_ you wished it were your kid. _

_ ah, if only i had this one. _

_ too bad, he's my kid. _

_ so we can't share? _

the last shrug of jae's shoulder takes brian aback in surprise. before he can get the words out -  _ what is this? what's this thing between you and me? _ \- jae stands, the chair scraping against the tiled floor. “i'll wash the dishes. it's getting late, so you should tuck dowoon in.”

with that, jae leaves the small dining room, leaving dowoon giggling with glee and brian left in utter, complete confusion. 

 

**_______________**

 

brian has never really liked babysitters. that's why he hardly ever works overtime, instead picking dowoon up latest by 5PM before heading home with him. the way they've fallen into this routine - jae and him - started just two weeks after jae winked at him, passing him a business card. (“see ya around,” he'd drawled, before ruffling dowoon's hair and striding off.)

it's 4:45PM and brian is in full panic mode. there's a heavy assignment due in two days, and if he doesn't work till late night, he's never going to make it by the deadline. if he’s going to work till late night, no one’s going to ferry his kid back home from the childcare centre and feed him dinner and tuck him into bed.  _ oh, no. _

valid options:

a) he would call his folks. if only they were in the same damned country.

b) his friends. wonpil's on his honeymoon with sungjin in jeju island at the moment… for the next two weeks. juggling a kid and work hasn't really expanded his friends circle.

c) jae.

the nerves flutter violently in the pit of brian's gut as his finger hovers hesitantly over the phone screen. he's outside the office building, tie loosened for the sake of calming his sanity. 

he clicks call.

_ pick up, please please pick up- _

“hello? bri, that you?”

brian almost breathes an audible sigh of relief. “h-hey, jae!” brian’s lips quiver. his throat feels so, so dry - he hasn't seen or talked to jae ever since their encounter two weeks prior. hearing that long, drawn out tone ringing through the line sends cold shivers down his back. “i hope i’m not interrupting you?”

“nah, man,” jae chuckles through the line. “about to get off work - you wanna meet up sometime or something?”

brian sucks in a breath. “i know this is absolutely random, but i need a favour. i'm desperately in need of someone to pick dowoon up.”

there's a pause. the man's heart thumps harshly against his ribcage. now what?

finally, a sigh rings through. “why didn't you call me sooner, then? i could've entertained him or something. you at work?”

“yeah. overtime tonight, um. you okay with it-”

“-bri.” the younger almost hears the underlying smile in the other's voice. “you  _ know _ i love the kid. i've only met him once, yes, but he's pretty adorable - just send me the address and stuff. he's got a house key?”

“yeah, he does,” brian remembers suddenly, the emergency key he plants in dowoon's bag. “in his satchel bag. last compartment.”

“well then. i’ll be off,” jae murmurs through the phone. “and don't worry, i ain't a serial killer, my friend. should i make him dinner?”

the banter continues for a while, brian enlisting the do's and can's, the don'ts and cannots, jae calming brian's nerves with the occasional “breathe, bri” and “calm down” and “legit, i won't kill him”.

as the call draws to an end, brian wipes at the sweat gathering on his upper brow. “you got everything down?”

“all typed out in my notes, baby,” jae teases. despite how coolly jae says it, brian's heart somersaults at the nickname. “you sound like you're sending me off to military. military i go.”

everything is a blur of emotions. brian's never let anyone look after dowoon except wonpil and his own parents - nada. a stranger he's met only once with a phone number in his cell phone? unbelievable, he thinks. (but drastic times call for drastic measures, so he ends the call with a rush of “thank you!”'s before hurrying back to his piling workload, earning a giggle from the other line.)

it's 10PM when brian stumbles back home, tie discarded and sleeves rolled up, hair a mess from tugging on it constantly to kill the migraine riddling his head. the second the front door swings open, a screech is heard from inside.

“d-dowoon ah?!” brian blurts, shocked. he glances at his watch. oh, god. it's waaaay past his bedtime now- “jae? jae!”

there's the sound of running footsteps, padding, a scream from somewhere in the bedroom, before dowoon materialises in the hallway. he waddles over to brian. “appa! appa! ahjussi came over today! he picked me up appa! he made me pancakes for dinner, appa!”

as if to add on to the ongoing blabber, jae appears behind dowoon, panting. his hair's sticking out everywhere. to brian's surprise, the man's still flanked in his work clothes, though quite wrinkled and out of place. “hey, brian - i'm so sorry, i've tried putting him to bed but apparently he wants  _ you _ to put him to sleep.”

brian's eyebrows crease in confusion. “me? i just sing.”

between the both of them, dowoon is raising his arms up, lips drawn into a pout as he demands for someone to lift him up. “oh,” jae responds, tone neutral. “oh. well. i didn't think of that.”

“yeah,” brian scratches the nape of his neck.

dowoon giggles as he lifts his arms up. “sing! sing!”

“this kid,” brian sighs. he brushes his hair off of his forehead before kneeling down. he stoops to dowoon's eye-level before letting out an exasperated sigh. “dowoonie, jae is going to put you to bed, okay? please listen to him. do this for appa, okay? appa is very tired today.” as his appa's words enter dowoon's head, the little kid smiles wide. out of the blue, dowoon plants a kiss on brian's stubbled chin.

he nods vigorously. “okay, appa!” with that, he turns on his heels and skips back into the bedroom. brian bites down on his lower lip as he watches his kid go off to bed.

as he stands back to his full height, jae rubs the nape of his neck, cheeks flushing. “i'm so sorry. i wanted to call and check if the two of you had a, i don't know, bedtime ritual? i didn't want to disturb your work, though.”

brian's tired. he's so tired, his brain doesn't process anything as he leans against jae, his forehead pressing against jae's shoulder. there's a soft thump as the briefcase is set down.

brian feels the tenseness of jae's shoulders slowly ebb away as jae slowly wraps his arms around brian. it's his imagination, he supposes, but he swears he feels jae's heart beating just as quickly as his own - shy, scared. euphoric.

“thanks. a lot,” brian gulps. his eyelids shut. “i'll shower first. can you try putting him to bed?”

when brian lifts his head to peer at jae, a small smile adorns the older's lips - the sight is gorgeous, the way jae's eyes are almost luminous as he pats brian's back. “no problem. get that shower fix. i'll try and lull your boy to sleep.”

brian remembers, even today, how he steps out of the bathroom about fifteen minutes later in an old tee and sweatpants, to see the two in the faint moonlight. there's a hauntingly smooth voice cutting through the silence of the otherwise quiet night. it takes brian a moment to realise it's jae singing, lulling dowoon to sleep.

as the song ends, brian watches jae stroke dowoon's hair gently. a sudden ache gnaws at brian's heart, the kind that sets him alight - he hasn't ever felt that in years, perhaps, way before dowoon was born. it's the kind that sends him back to memories of young love and softness and gentleness and care. when they lock eyes, brian is stood rooted to the spot as jae grins back at him.

_ah, kids._

 

**_______________**

 

“hey,” brian plops onto the couch an hour later, present time. dowoon's now in bed, jae flicking through the tv channels. upon brian's presence, jae sets the remote control down on the table.

“hey yourself,” jae chuckles. “what's the show tonight? i saw a big bang theory rerun on one of the channel. or would you favour now you see-”

“-jae.”

and jae turns his head, surprised at brian's sharp tone. his eyebrows shoot up, full lips apart. brian has to swallow his nerves, especially with jae staring at him, work shirt sleeves rolled up to expose the smooth lines of his forearms, first two buttons unbuttoned to show off pretty pale skin. brian's heart is in his throat as he parts his own lips.

“i… what is this?”

awkwardness settles in the air that inhibits them. “what do you mean, this?” jae responds, puzzled. brian can't tell if the other is genuinely confused or covering it up well.

“you know what i mean,” brian sighs. he fidgets with his hands. “ _ this _ . you coming over every week, helping me to take care of dowoonie. you acting like you don't have a life of your own, always lingering around me and dowoon and never really going out there. i'm not saying that this is bad, i'm just, i don't know, confused, because it's not like your life is revolving around me and dowoon and-”

brian's cut off from his rambling by the feel of lips against his. _oh god oh god oh god-_

the last time brian's been kissed was by his wife, a long five years ago, the day before the birth of dowoon and the death of his loved one. this is different, the way kissing men has always been different. jae's lips are full, a little wet from licking at them before initiating contact. brian shuts up immediately, gives in to jae and this kiss and this. everything. this is what this is.

carefully, brian shifts himself so he's sat on jae's lap, legs flanked out on either side of his hips, before leaning in to kiss jae again. jae's hands cup brian's cheeks, whilst brian's own grips jae's slender shoulders gently. everything is all too much and all too little at once. two years of  _ this _ , and never once had brian thought it'd come to  _ this _ .

“wait, god, bribri,” jae whispers. “can i take your shirt off?”

of course brian's an idiot if he said no.

the piece of fabric is easily peeled off of him and thrown carelessly onto the carpeted floor. jae's eyes are wild and free, hands now taking ahold of brian's full hips. “i like you so, so much, and i can't believe you never took a hint why i always come around,” jae murmurs under his breath. he presses his lips against brian's skin, once at his left pectoral, once at his neckline, once at his collarbone. on top of him, brian squirms from it all, too much contact all at once.

“i like you too.” it doesn't come as a shock to him as the words tumble from brian's lips involuntarily. to think jae felt the same way back. wow.

a laugh erupts from jae's chest. “tell me something i don't already know, brian,” jae teases. brian rolls his eyes - of course jae took the hint and he himself hadn't - before closing the space again, lips upon lips, hips pressed against hips. all the blood is pounding in his head, his heart, his everything.

jae's hands graze the top of brian's pants-

“oh my god!”

if time were frozen, you'd see brian's stilled face and jae's fingers halt. at the doorway stands dowoon, chicken little plushie in his arms as he squeals. “appa! oh my god! you're naked!” with that, dowoon screws his eyes shut. “appaaaaa please don't be naked with jaehyung appa-”

“-i'm not naked!” brian screeches.

“-jaehyung appa?!” jae screams.

the both of them scramble off of each other hastily, brian almost flung out of jae's lap. he hurriedly pulls his shirt back on. “dowoon ah! i thought you were sleeping!”

“i couldn't fall asleep, so i came out here!” dowoon wails, eyes still shut. “are you still naked?”

“no!” brian retorts. he almost yanks his hair off of his scalp. “god, dowoon ah, get to bed already.”

“i should get him to bed,” jae leaps off of the couch with such zest brian almost laughs, if he doesn't remember about how his kid almost walked in on them getting it on like two hormonal teens. “c'mon dowoonie, let's get you to bed,” he calls over his shoulder, before strutting off.

before jae can leave, though, he feels a small tug on his shirt. he turns around to face the little boy, his eyes lit up and wide, innocently asking,

“can you be my appa, too?”

brian's cheeks practically glow in embarrassment. “dowoon!” he admonishes.

much to his astonishment, jae bends down to ruffle dowoon's hair. “do you want me to be your appa, dowoonie?”

dowoon nods his head furiously. “i want you to be my appa so you can make me pancakes for dinner and sing me to sleep and watch chicken little with me!” dowoon pouts. “be my appa, please! i said please!”

the grin that breaks across jae's face sends brian flying. “i'll be your appa… but only if your appa gives permission.” brian swears his heart stops as jae throws him a wink. be still, my heart.

“appaaaaa! say yes!  _ please! _ ” dowoon pleads, jumping up and down.

“i'll only say yes if you get to bed!” brian tells him off. with that, dowoon's eyes light up, and he zooms straight into his bedroom, almost leaving a trail of dust behind. brian has to refrain himself from melting into a puddle of nothing when jae glances up at him.

“i guess we're appas now,” jae grins. his eyes twinkle.

“oh, no. we haven't even gone on one date, and we're  _ married _ ?” brian gulps. his chest thrums with nerves.

jae gets up and leans in to kiss brian's lips. “i think we've been married for two years now, don't you think?” jae chuckles a little. brian smiles, before pulling jae in for another heated kiss.

“tell me something i don't already know, then,” brian quotes, chirpy. his heart beats match jae's, fast and rapid and ceaselessly beating away.

“think about it, our kid almost saw your dick out on display,” jae chortles. brian laughs along too, before realising jae just said 'our kid’. heat rushing to his cheeks, brian smiles before pulling jae in for a hug.

ah, young love. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/softtofustew_) // [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/softtofustew_) // [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/softtofustew)


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